


Close

by hernameinthesky



Category: Vampire Academy Series - Richelle Mead
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Happy Ending, Mild Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-07
Updated: 2020-09-07
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:21:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26339425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hernameinthesky/pseuds/hernameinthesky
Summary: In the caves the guardians almost go back for Dimitri. In this world, they do.For the ‘happy ending’ square on my Trope Bingo card.
Relationships: Dimitri Belikov/Rose Hathaway
Comments: 4
Kudos: 93
Collections: Trope Bingo: Round Fifteen





	Close

Dimitri rounds a corner, crowding Celeste, pushing her on. Open air is so close, a circle of glowing gold that they hurtle towards. The others are hovering at the entrance and he searches the faces until he finds Rose. They’re so, so close.

Not close enough. Celeste goes down and in that moment when he’s processing the figure on top of her, the sudden burst of blood, someone pulls him hard to the the ground. He shoves at his assailant but his stake is trapped between them. He’s pinned. Red eyes, a hand fisting in his hair, sharp points at his neck, a second of terror and pain- The world fractures. 

Bliss floods his body, softening him, reminding him that everything is going to be alright. He closes his eyes and the darkness is soothing. Joy washes over him in waves, pulling him under. Far away someone is screaming, and for a moment he struggles, but he can’t catch onto their fear.  


He sinks deeper... like relaxing into the softest bed. Roza would be with him, curled around him, skin against skin. Her eyes wide with wonder. Smiling against his mouth. Fingers tracing patterns on his back. He sighs happily at the memory... fantasy... he’s not sure if it’s happening or not. If the body pressed against him is her’s. But who else could provide such bliss? 

A brief flash of pain at his throat. He’s jolted against the hard ground, feeling suddenly cold as the pleasure fades. He gasps at the loss and wants to cry out, but his tongue is heavy, the words just out of reach. Loud noises fade in and out around him. Fingers are clutching at his shoulder, his jacket, pulling and pushing, hot breath against his forehead, then a sickening roll he doesn’t understand. Light hits his eyes painfully and he closes them to the confusing blur of green and brown...

When he wakes he’s lying on a hard bed, a dim light above him. There’s a steady hum of activity around him and when he turns his head to investigate he finds Rose and forgets about anything else.

She’s asleep, twisted in a chair in a way that can’t be comfortable, with her head drooping against her outstretched arm. Her fingers are inches from his own. He moves slowly, unsure of his own injuries, and twines their hands together. She wakes with a sharp inhale and blinks groggily at him before her eyes go wide. Tear tracks run down her cheeks, clean trails in a face that’s otherwise grimy with dust and sweat. Her hair is a wild tangle over her shoulders. There are spots of blood here and there on her face - a flick beneath her left eye, a swipe on her chin - with no discernible source. She is radiant.

“Dimitri,” she whispers, uncurling herself and falling towards him, pressing her head hard against his shoulder. “Oh God. _Dimitri_.”

His gingerly wraps his arms around her, hands pressing into her back. He can feel her heartbeat through her shirt. Safe.

“Roza.”

She pulls back to look at him. Her eyes are so dark. He got lost in them a long time ago and has never yet found his way out, would never want to. 

“What happened? I was... bitten?”   


He tries to piece together that last fight. Can remember an ungraceful grappling, push-and-shove, then blind pleasure. His hand goes to his neck and finds only clear, uninjured skin. 

“Yeah.” Rose sucks in a breath and lets it out in a shudder. “Yeah, you were bitten. Lissa healed you.”  


She cups his face with her hand and he turns into her touch instinctively. Her thumb traces back and forth along his cheekbone and he’s reminded of their encounter last week when she’d cleaned up a wound he’d received from a fight with another novice. It’s a strange but not unpleasant flip of perspective to be the one being taken care of.

“Celeste?” he questions, relieved beyond measure when Rose smiles shakily.

“She’s fine. Lissa took care of her, too. Not even a scar.” She shakes her head wonderingly. “It’s more than anyone’s ever seen her do. People are looking at her like she’s some sort of angel.”

He frowns, remembering their discussion about Lissa’s darkness transferring to Rose. “Is she doing too much?“

“I’m not feeling crazy, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“She still ought to be careful. For her own sake as well as yours.”

He knows that the best way to get through to Rose is point out the dangers to Lissa.

“She’s not attending minor injuries anymore. But yours wasn’t minor.”

“What happened?”

She swallows, hand trembling against his cheek.

“He was- draining you, and when we pulled him away his fangs got caught and- and ripped down your neck. You lost a lot of blood.” She blinks rapidly, but a tear falls despite her efforts, landing on his chin. She wipes it away with her thumb. 

“I’m sorry,” he murmurs. “I wish you hadn’t seen that.”

She shakes her head, eyes squeezed shut to hold back more tears. “I’m fine,” she says. Then, at his raised eyebrow, “Alright, I’m not. It was terrifying. I thought I’d lost you.”

“You haven’t.”

She ducks her head, bringing them closer, a faint brush of her nose against his. 

“I want to kiss you,” she whispers.

He’s close to saying screw it and kissing her anyway, but some last vestigesof sense remain. Some intimacy will be forgiven after what happened, but they probably crossed that line a while ago. He’s not sure how many people are around them - he thinks several cots are shoved into what’s supposed to be a room for one - but it’s not worth being taken from her now.

“I love you,” he says instead, low so only she can hear.

Exhaustion is creeping up on him and it’s becoming hard to keep his eyes open.

“I love you too,” Rose says softly. She kisses his forehead, a soothing balm of touch. 

“I’m about to fall asleep,” he warns.

She laughs quietly, and the sound warms him. 

“I love you,” he says again, in lieu of all he wants to say but can’t find the words to express right now.

“I’ll be here when you wake up.”


End file.
